It’s Prime Video night with your friends.
You’re all enjoying your favorite flick on your Android TV.
When all of a sudden…
The streaming app just stopped working.
Bummer!
But don’t worry. There are easy fixes for that.
Continue reading to learn:
- A Prime Video restriction that you need to be aware of.
- 13 easy and effective ways to fix Prime Video on your Android TV.
- Prime Video speed requirements to be able to stream on Android TV without buffers.
- And a lot more…
Why is Prime Video not working on Android TV?
Prime Video isn’t working on your Android TV because your internet is unstable. You may restart your modem and router to fix this. As well as reset your Android TV’s network connection via Settings. The Prime Video app may also be glitching. You may delete and reinstall it to resolve the issue.
Prime Video not working on Android TV: 13 fixes
#1: Verify if Prime Video is down
In terms of subscriber count, Amazon Prime Video is right behind Netflix.
As of 2022, this streaming service now has over 175 million users.
Of course, having that many streamers may at times cause problems on Amazon’s servers. Resulting in temporary outages and service interruptions.
So if it’s not working on your Android TV, check if it’s actually down.
Here are some of the sites you can visit to check:
In addition, you may also try to stream using another device.
You may use your laptop to stream Prime Video from a web browser. If you’re still unable to watch from there, then the problem is on Amazon’s end.
Their outages generally don’t last long. You’ll only have to wait a little while.
#2: Check if you’re experiencing network connection issues
Prime Video offers the option to watch in Standard Definition (HD) and High Definition (HD).
You’d need a minimum of 1 Mbps to watch in SD. And 5 Mbps to watch in HD.
So it’s possible that your internet’s preventing Prime Video from streaming smoothly.
An easy solution is to perform a power cycle on your modem and router.
Power cycle simply means resetting your device.
How to perform a power cycle on your modem and router
- Unplug your modem and router from the outlet.
- Wait for about 30 seconds.
- Plug both devices back in.
In addition, you may also try to reset your Android TV’s network connection. Your internet may be fine. But the TV itself is likely struggling to connect to WiFi.
How to reset your Android TV’s network connection
- Go to your Android TV’s home screen and select Settings.
- Select Network.
- Look for your WiFi’s name on the list and select it.
- Click Forget Network and confirm by clicking OK.
- Still on the Network page, look for your WiFi’s name and click it.
- Enter your password and click OK.
For a visual guide on how to forget your Android TV’s connection, check out this video:
#3: Restart your Android TV
As with any smart TV OS, Android TV will experience occasional glitches.
Perhaps this is why your Prime Video app isn’t working on your Android TV.
And a simple solution to that would be to restart your TV.
Now you have 2 options to do that.
You may restart via unplugging. And via the Settings menu. Both are really easy to do.
How to restart by unplugging
- While your Android TV is still on, unplug it from the outlet.
- Wait for about 30 seconds to a minute.
- Plug the TV back into the outlet.
How to restart via the Settings menu
- On the Android TV home screen, click Settings.
- Go to Device Preferences.
- Click About.
- Select the Restart option.
Note: Some Android TVs have a Quick Settings menu. If you have that, you’ll see the Restart option right after clicking Settings.
#4: Check if more than 2 devices are trying to play the same title
Prime Video allows users to watch in up to 3 devices for every account.
However, only 2 devices can watch the same title at the same time.
For example, you and 2 other friends are using your account. You’re all watching at the same time using different devices.
Then all 3 of you decide to stream the exact same video.
What will happen is you’ll receive an error.
So to avoid this, inform the others that are using your account.
Let them know of Amazon Prime Video’s restriction.
You may also simply choose to stream another title. Prime Video has over 24,000 movies and 2,000 shows. So plenty of choices for you.
#5: Force quit and relaunch the Prime Video app
Now it’s also likely that the Prime Video app is glitching.
Similar to a power cycle, all you need to do is close the app. And then relaunch it.
How to force quit Prime Video on Android TV
- From the Android TV home screen, click the Settings icon.
- Navigate to Apps and select it.
- Look for Prime Video and click it.
- Click the Force Stop option.
Now before relaunching the app, it’s best to restart your Android TV. You may refer to our Fix #3 for that.
After the restart, you may go ahead and relaunch Prime Video.
#6: Clear the Prime Video app’s cache
Most of the apps on your Android TV store cache.
These are temporary files intended to make an app load faster.
With Prime Video, cache files include your recent searches. As well as the titles you recently streamed.
But when the app accumulates a large amount of cache, it may malfunction.
And the same is true if some of the cache files become corrupted.
So it’s best to clear them from time to time.
Here’s how to do it:
- Press the Home button on your remote and go to Settings.
- Select Apps.
- Select See All Apps then System Apps.
- Navigate to Prime Video and click it.
- Select the Clear Cache option.
Afterward, try to relaunch the app.
#7: Clear the Prime Video app’s data
Now, if clearing Prime Video’s cache didn’t fix the issue, you may go ahead and delete its data.
This is essentially resetting the app. All of your downloaded files will be deleted. Your account will also be removed from the app. So you’ll have to sign back in again.
These are the steps:
- On your remote, press the Home button and click Settings.
- Select Apps.
- Click See All Apps and go to System Apps.
- Highlight the Prime Video app and click it.
- Select Clear Data.
#8: Install updates for the Prime Video app
Now, another reason why Prime Video isn’t working is that it’s outdated.
Like any app, it’s important to keep it up to date. Updates are intended to install new features. As well as fix any existing bugs.
To ensure that Prime Video is always up to date, you may set it to automatically receive updates.
Here are the steps:
- From the Android TV home screen, click Apps.
- Select Google Play Store.
- Select Settings.
- Select Auto-update Apps.
- Click the “Auto-update apps at any time” option.
Your Android TV should then automatically download and install updates for all apps. Including Prime Video.
#9: Update your Android TV’s firmware
So I just mentioned that it’s important to always keep apps up to date.
Well, the same is definitely true with your Android TV’s firmware. Otherwise, it may start to malfunction.
This is how you can manually check for updates:
- Press the Home button on your remote and go to Apps.
- Select Help.
- Navigate to Status & Diagnostics and click it.
- Select System Software Update.
- Select Software Update.
- You’ll see a message if there are updates available. Click Update.
The software update should then begin.
Note: It may take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes for this process to finish. Make sure not to press any buttons on your TV or remote while the update is ongoing.
#10: Delete then reinstall the Prime Video app
If installing updates didn’t fix your Prime Video app, then a fresh installation may be in order.
The process of deletion and reinstallation is really easy. This should only take you a few minutes.
How to delete Prime Video on Android TV
- From the Android TV home screen, go to Settings.
- Navigate to Device and select it.
- Click Apps.
- Select Downloaded Apps.
- Look for Prime Video and select Uninstall.
- Click OK to confirm.
Now, wait for a few minutes before reinstalling.
How to reinstall Prime Video
- From the Android TV home screen, go to Apps.
- Select Google Play Store.
- Click the Search icon and type in “Prime Video”.
- Once the Prime Video page appears, click Install.
#11: Make sure your Android TV’s time and date settings are correct
This isn’t exactly a common cause of problems for Prime Video.
But in rare instances, incorrect date and time settings may also cause problems.
They may cause the app to malfunction on Android TV.
So make sure that your TV has the correct settings.
Here’s how to do it:
- Press the Home button on your remote and click Settings.
- Select System.
- Select Date & Time.
- Select Automatic Date & Time and set it to ON.
With the internet, your Android TV should be able to set the correct time and date based on your location.
#12: Perform a factory reset on your Android TV
Consider this as one of your last options.
Performing a factory reset will erase all your personal data on your Android TV. You’ll have to re-enter your account details. And you’ll have to redownload apps.
These are the steps to do it:
- Press the Home button on your remote and go to Settings.
- Select Device Preferences.
- Select Reset.
- Navigate to Factory Data Reset and click it.
- Select Erase Everything.
- Click Yes to confirm.
The reset process should begin. It should take around 5 to 10 minutes to finish.
#13: Contact Prime Video for customer support
So you’ve done all the available fixes. And the issue still persists.
At this point, it’s best to contact Amazon for customer support.
The issue may very well be on their end. And they should be able to provide enough help to get Prime Video up and running on your Android TV.
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